Research has shown that the success of human interpersonal relationships depends on complex interactions between a large number of variables, including but not limited to, personality, socioeconomic status, religion, appearance, ethnic background, energy level, education and interests. Matching services have developed effective systems that analyze these variables to identify and match people who have the potential to establish a successful relationship. A well-known example of such a service is eHarmony, Inc. (which can be found at www.eHarmony.com). A matching service generally collects and stores data to create a “profile” for each user that includes a number of factors potentially relevant to establishing a successful interpersonal relationship with that user. The matching service then correlates that user's profile with others in its database to assess which profiles are compatible, i.e. which users have the potential for a successful relationship when matched. Generally, potentially compatible users are identified and given the opportunity to interact with each other so as to establish the suggested relationship.
The variables used by these matching services are generally based on empirical data gathered from the user's themselves, e.g. by the user's written responses to an initial survey. In addition to this empirical data, additional data based on a user's previous experiences, such as locations visited and activities completed, may be helpful in these services.
Accordingly, matching systems and methods that utilize users' previous experiences is desirable.